Kelso Isn't In a Towel
by igotatext
Summary: thought it would be fun to see how different things could've turned out in the season 7 finale if Hyde got there a bit earlier and Kelso wasn't in a towel. also wanted to see how it'd go if Hyde and Jackie were actually using some of their character development instead of acting OOC so they could be broken up. kind of a very late season 8 fix-it, but also not really


Hyde was nervous.

And that sucked, because he never got nervous, on principle. Feelings like that were stupid and pointless and he refused to buy into them. But telling himself that didn't stop the cold sweat from making its way down his forehead, nor did it stop his stomach from churning.

Or maybe that was the beer he'd shotgunned a moment ago. Either way, he didn't like these feelings and he needed them to stop. They'd need to at least ease up a bit if he was ever gonna leave this car.

He was parked in front of a motel, high class by his standards, just a little bit too seedy for Jackie's. He'd spent most of his day alternating between staring at the address that she'd scrawled and shoved into his jacket pocket and burning Forman, because he wouldn't have the opportunity again for a whole year. It was crazy to think about, because he'd literally spent most of his life either sitting with Forman in his basement or sitting behind him in homeroom, but he hadn't had much time to worry about that. The second he'd said bye to Forman, he'd gotten in the El Camino and sped to Chicago in way less than two hours, and then he'd gone to the motel, which he was now sitting in front of instead of entering.

He killed the engine and shoved the keys in his back pocket, his hands brushing against the velvet box there. The source of his anxiety, or one of them at least. He had to be the biggest idiot in the world, and a hypocrite to boot. Was he really gonna marry Jackie because she'd given him an ultimatum?

In all honesty, he wasn't completely sure. The thought of marrying Jackie still filled him with the deep existential dread it always had, but the thought of her just disappearing from his life forever made him feel like his heart had been scooped out of his chest and thrown off the water tower. He'd spent the last few days trying to convince himself he didn't care, because that usually worked, and when that'd failed he'd gotten drunk and bought the most expensive wedding ring he could find at the jewelry store.

He got out of the car, slammed the door and began walking towards the motel. He just needed to talk to her. All he'd been doing was sniping at her, and that was getting them nowhere, so he was going to put his heart on the line. Just this once, he'd tell her how he felt and if that failed, he'd get right back in the El Camino and drive until he hit Vegas or something.

He'd gotten to the door much sooner than he'd have liked to. He took a deep breath and knocked.

"Come in," her muffled voice came from the other side.

He gulped, wishing he hadn't decided against being high for this, and walked in.

She was perched on the edge of the bed, flipping through a magazine. She couldn't have been at the motel for much longer than he had, because she was fully dressed and her luggage was still standing next to the bed. She glanced up and in that second, all his doubts melted away and it was just them. She looked surprised, and then really happy to see him. Maybe there was still hope?

Of course, at that very moment, he noticed Kelso, who was standing over at the window, peering out and making dumb guffawing noises. Any and all feelings of relief were replaced by an incredible amount of anger, and then, numbness. Of course she'd run back to Kelso the minute they broke up. God, why'd he gone and fallen in love with her? This whole thing would be a whole lot easier if he hadn't

Kelso looked over when he walked in and smiled his dopey smile. "Hey, Hyde!" He chirped, oblivious as ever. "What're you doing here?"

He glanced from Jackie to Kelso. He was sure that his emotions hadn't shown on his face, but Jackie must've sensed where he was going with this, because she stood up, crossed over to him in one stride and wrapped her tiny hand around his wrist. "Micheal drove me here." She said, looking straight into his eyes, as though she was daring him to call her bluff. "I had no way of getting out of Point Place, and he did me a favour. He's not staying the night. Okay? _That's it."_

He knew he should rip his arm away but he couldn't seem to. He stared searchingly into her huge eyes, his thoughts racing a mile-a-minute. He wished her explanation didn't make sense, but it did. She didn't have a car, and Hyde had basically been her personal chauffeur since her dad went to jail. This situation was all too familiar, and jumping to conclusions _that _time had probably been the biggest mistake of his life. He couldn't even justify it this time by claiming he'd found them in a compromising position. Jackie raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow at him. _Well?, _she seemed to be asking.

With a lot of effort, he calmed down. He'd be damned if he didn't see this through.

"Man, there's a lot of cars in Chicago." Kelso mused, shaking Hyde out of his trance and enabling him to shake Jackie's arm off. "So Hyde, are you here to _propose _to_ Jackie?_" He snickered goofily. "Man, I can't believe you fell for it. That's such a good burn."

Hyde scowled. "Get out of here, Kelso. Me and Jackie need to talk." At that point, Jackie seemed to realize how close she was standing to him, so she strolled back over to the bed and positioned a Zen expression on her face.

Kelso pouted, hanging his head down comically. "C'mon, Hyde." He sauntered over to him. "Brooke's mom isn't gonna let me in if I don't give her notice, and I have nowhere else to go."

"Then go home." Hyde said through gritted teeth. Sure, he believed Jackie, but the idea of Kelso alone with her in a motel room still made his blood boil.

"Fine." But instead of walking out the door, he smiled mischievously. "But first, I_really _have to take a shower. I won't take long, you won't even know I'm here-"

Hyde lunged at him and he yelped and ran out the door.

Hyde sighed and shut it behind him, and turned to look at Jackie, who'd dropped the Zen look and was staring at him expectantly. Suddenly, without the distraction of Kelso, the weight of the situation once again settled on his shoulders. Every time he moved he could feel the ring shifting around in his pocket. He really should've had a plan before he came in here.

"Well, Steven?" Jackie said after a few seconds of him just standing there. "You came here for a reason, didn't you?"

"You know, I just wanted to check out your new digs," he tried, but the joke fell just kept staring at him unnervingly. "Actually," he conceded, "I came here to talk to you about…us."

Oh man, he was really doing this. He took in a deep breath. "Look, Jackie, we haven't really talked to each other for a while." He began, choosing to hide behind his sunglasses instead of meeting her gaze. "And I think that's why we aren't on the same page about a lot of things. So, I'm just gonna talk, okay?" He held up his hand when she opened her mouth to reply. "And you're gonna listen. I listened when you gave me your stupid ultimatum, didn't I?" She looked at him suspiciously but nodded. "Great. And…if we're still not on the same page, well, then, you can just forget I ever said any of this."

Standing across from her, talking about their relationship felt real corny, so he went and sat next to her on the bed, albeit farther than he would usually sit. He sorely wished he'd drank more before this. "Look, doll, I get it. Okay? I get that you want to know whether or not you're wasting your time. But you can't just force me into doing things. You of all people should know that doesn't work." She looked like she wanted to say something, but settled for nodding instead. "Since you wanna know whether I see a future for us or not so bad, I'll finally give you an answer. In a word; no."

"That's cruel, Steven!" Jackie exclaimed. He rolled his eyes. She'd been quiet for a grand total of five seconds. "You can't come all the way here to tell me that. I'd already guessed as much when you let me _leave_-"

"Shut your pie-hole!" He half-yelled. Man, why'd he have to love someone so annoying? "I said you shouldn't interrupt." She sighed dramatically and turned away from him. "I can't help it, Jackie, that's just the way my mind is wired." He was referring to how his parents were so unreliable that he'd had to train himself to see the worst-case scenario at all times, just to avoid going crazy. But he was pretty sure she knew that. "But I want a future. I _do_." She'd turned back and was looking at him like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. He took off his glasses and looked her dead in the eyes. "I want to be with you for as long as possible. Forever." He managed to choke out, heat filling his cheeks.

Her mouth hung open in shock. He didn't blame her, he was surprised too. He hadn't really planned on doing this, but he'd just thought about how at every major turning point in their relationship, Jackie had to whine and cajole him into the next step. And how he'd be a wuss about it, and get all weird, and then end up enjoying it. And he'd thought about how he should probably give her a little something, so it wouldn't feel like she was screaming at a brick wall. He was still very mad at her, but she deserved that at least.

Before she could take what he'd said and run with it, he spoke up. "To clarify, I'm not proposing to you."

He'd decided a few seconds ago, that he wouldn't be using the ring today. It wasn't a good idea, and hopefully she could see that.

"Wanting to be with someone long term and marriage are completely different." He said, at her bewildered expression. "Marriage is a whole other beast. Besides, would you really want me to propose to you in response to an ultimatum?" She was crazy, but Jackie, the romantic she was, would never accept that. At least, he hoped she wouldn't.

She didn't answer his question. Instead, she looked deep in thought. He began to panic, wondering if he'd made a mistake. Would he look like an idiot if she rejected him and he whipped out the ring to save face? And she was most likely going to tell all their friends what he'd told her, and he'd have to move from Point Place to avoid the shame. Ugh, he knew this was a bad ide-

His train of thought was interrupted when Jackie tackled him, and the force of it knocked both of them on the carpet. They came to a rolling stop with Jackie on top of him. Before he could make sense of what was happening, she crushed her lips into his and _kissed _him. It might've been the withdrawal talking, but this felt like the best kiss he'd ever gotten in his life.

She finally pulled away and entangled her hands in his hair. He managed to reposition himself so they were lying facing each other on the ground. The look on Jackie's face sent pleasant tingles down his spine. "I'll take that as a yes?"

"Oh, Steven." She said breathlessly. "Of course it's a yes. I can't believe you came all the way here and professed your _love _to me." She pulled him into another kiss.

He pulled away after a moment. "But like, you don't wanna get married?" He was suspicious that Jackie was just taking him at his word. These weren't the terms specified in the ultimatum. Since when had she been so agreeable?

"Of course I want to get married." Jackie assured him, her fingers tracing up and down his neck and making it hard for him to concentrate. "But giving you an ultimatum was a mistake. I knew it the minute I said it." She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "And I _probably _would've said no if you'd actually proposed, because you'd spend our whole marriage, like, really pissed, but not tell me why, like the idiot you are."

That did sound like something he'd do. He shrugged and pulled her in once again, and once again before things could get too heated, he pulled away. Another thought had occurred to him. "Aren't you bummed about missing out on this opportunity? Isn't this supposed to be your 'big break'?" When the subject of resenting your spouse had come up, Hyde couldn't help but wonder if Jackie would start hating him. Pretty important to know, since he was planning on being with her forever and everything.

She stared at him, her patience obviously beginning to wear thin. "If it was that important to me, I would've made the decision myself instead of passing it over to you." She sat up and leaned against the side of the bed. "Besides, I'm hot, young, and incredibly talented. There's going to be loads more opportunities."

Hyde rolled his eyes. Coming from anyone else, he would've thought they were delusional, but he had no doubt that Jackie could do it. If there was anyone in all of Wisconsin that could get famous, it was definitely Jackie Burkhart.

"Now I know we'll be together forever." She continued, as Hyde sat up and adjusted so her legs straddled his waist. "And someday, we'll get married-"

"We don't _have _to get married, that's just what society wants us to think." He interjected. "The government needs us to be married so they can have records of us, and corporations make money off of weddings-"

She put her hands on his face and drew him closer, until their faces were centimetres away from each other. "I think it's time _you _shut your pie-hole." She pressed her lips against his, and this time, he didn't pull away.

Hours later, as he lay shirtless in the motel bed with Jackie snoring softly beside him, he still couldn't believe it. All he'd had to do was finally answer the question Jackie'd been asking him for years, and she was satisfied. Figures. Women were crazy, man.

He glanced at the alarm clock on the dresser. They'd probably have to start leaving soon if Hyde was going to make it early enough for work. Or, he thought, a smirk twitching at his lips, Jackie'd mentioned she'd paid for a whole week at this place. He turned and wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling into her neck. Yup, that sounded like a much better idea, he thought, breathing her in as sleep finally took him.


End file.
